YAMA-
Ahimsa, Asteya,
Satya, Brahmacharya,
Aparigraha
NIYAMA- Soucha, Santosha,
Tapas, Svadyaya, Isvara Pranidana
The
practice of Yama and Niyama, or "restraint"
and "promotion" of various actions and mental attitudes,
form the ethical basis of the path of Ashtanga Yoga as given by sage
Patanjali between 2300 and 2500 years ago. They are, necessarily,
the first two limbs of the eight described by the term Ashtanga
or eight-limbed Yoga, which is synonymous with the "highest"
or most comprehensive Yoga--that of Raja (the "Royal")Yoga--which
utilizes practices for opening and purifying body, mind, and heart
to apprehend the Divine within. These precepts address the power and
potential of disciplining the mind--revealing it's natural elegance
and fortitude--and the awakening of non-dual awareness through the
cultivation of right behavior, right outlook, and right intention.
Yama and Niyama address that which is common to human experience throughout
time, culture, gender, and religious orientation. The Yamas and Niyamas
can be constructively applied to all aspects of life, and so in this
writing I have borrowed from a common Buddhist construct in order
to invite the reader to look at three kinds of experience that have
relative levels of visiblity: the outer, inner, and secret.
The
outer level refers to the objective, how we see the effects of our
behaviors outwardly and the relevant behavior of others.
The
inner level is our subjective experience, our interpretation of life
through the ego, ahamkar, which makes sense of things as they pertain
to us and shapes how we regard ourselves, our personality, and our
self-esteem and identity within it. Our individual perception, leading
to favorable or unfavorable interpretation of any given situation,
is influenced according to Yoga Sutra by five states of mind. These
are pramana (having a standard or ideal about what is being
perceived), viparyaya (misapprehension or false perception
of something based on wrong knowledge or facts) , vikalpa
(delusional thinking based on fantasizing about the nature of the
object or experience at hand), smriti (memory), and nidra
(dreaming--the state of mind most commonly experienced in sleep).
The
secret level is the pure wisdom nature of an experience. It can be
awareness of archetypal or symbolic truths emerging from a singular
experience or cycle in one's life. It comes from a place that is beyond
moralising about good and bad, beyond whether an experience has brought
us pleasure or pain, fame or shame, or some combination thereof. It
reveals to us the purpose of why we experience what we do in the way
that we do, so that we can be free of our conditioning.
The
Yamas and Niyamas exist not only to cultivate and civilize the Yogi
to make her/him fit for self-realization and a better human being,
but as a kind of protection against going astray on the spiritual
path. When a person is immersed in Yogic practices, there has to be
an equal development of bhakti and buddhi--the devotional
spirit of love for the Divine in all, and the higher intellect which
gives the power of discernment between the real and unreal. It is
worthwhile, when using such loaded words as "real" and "unreal",
to point to the "real" as that which helps us to overcome
our attachment to making things last and that which helps us to perceive
the dynamics of change within the law of impermanence. It is of great
interest to the Yamas in particular to free us from such clinging
to perceived stability of the material world and our identification
with it. The Yamas--nonaggression, non-accumulation, non-stealing,
moderation of desires, and truthfulness--show the way towards developing
enjoyment of material reality without attempting to own, control,
and in the end become a slave to it.
Without
selflessness, the awakening of Siddhis - latent powers of mind enabled
by Yogic practices - can tempt a person to fall into various traps.
A "siddha" is an adept, one who has some experience and
accomplishment in the development of spiritual practice. Relating
to the powers of mind freed from the constraints of investment in
the personality and ego is and always has been a tricky dance as pointed
out by the ancient Yoga Sutras. Much of the pratfall of siddhis has
to do with taking "ownership" or identity in the newly acquired
gifts of mind and body which are really only the average marks of
an intelligent human living in harmony with nature's law, not something
to get caught up in if one is intent on the goal of liberation. One
of these is megalomania, manifesting as thinking that one is increasingly
unique or favored by the Divine and thus separating one further from
a unitive and equanimous appreciation of others as Divine also. The
five Niyamas--purity, contentment, austerity, self-study, and surrender
to a higher power--remediate this in particular, reinforcing the practitioner's
longing for and humility towards the Divine within, which becomes
increasingly more apparent in the world of appearances as other beings,
as nature itself, as diversity equally infused with that potential,
equally beholden to the One.
The
Yamas point to a right relationship with the material world that is
especially potent when the powers of mind are awakened. It is incumbent
upon the Yogi not to use one's newly acquired intelligence or mental
influence to manipulate others for his/her own benefit, whether through
direct action or purposefully deluding others for the sake of showing
off, or for material gain, etc. The appearance of siddhis do not,
unfortunately, reflect the absolutely virtuous proof of an ethical
or moral person. Anyone who has advanced their concentration through
what Patanjali calls
samyama ("absorption" or
complete immersion on the nature of an object) and self-discipline
can to some degree awaken these dormant powers, which are listed as
eight including clairvoyance, clairaudience, knowing the thoughts
of others, precognition of future events, changing size at will, etc.
Whether a person uses these skills for their own reinforcement (creating
karma), or for the benefit of others (creating karma), or, at the
highest level, uses them for the benefit of all without attachment
to outcome (as one on the way to being karma-free) determines the
continued progress of Yoga sadhana.
The
necessity of being strongly rooted in ethics also relates to the practitioner's
care of their physical vessel through developing the sturdiness of
character that the Yamas and Niyamas produce, in order to avert from
the disasters of pushing oneself for the wrong reasons through to
one's limit without regard for wholistic development of the body,
mind, emotional, and pranic capacities. In performing practices which
stir the Kundalini Shakti - the latent spiritual energy that potentiates
the nervous system, body and psyche for the experience of full awakening
- there is physical, mental, and psychological danger inherent of
getting energetically overwhelmed if the practitioner is not prepared.
This can manifest as acute disorders of the mind or physical pains
in the body, or dealing with physical or mental hardships or sensitivities
which are prolonged over time. In this case Kundalini activity can
seem to be not a blessing but a setback, although it is ultimately
the compassionate force which causes us to respect the spiritual path
and our aspiration towards it with greater humility, temperance, and
patience. It (awakening) is similar to the fire in which a clay vessel
is baked. If the clay vessel has a crack, or even a tiny rock in it
which has been undetected, it will break upon being subjected to that
which acts upon it's whole being. If the clay vessel is solid, then
it will survive the transformation of the elements which compose its
being, and become what it is meant to be, capable of serving as a
vessel for nourishing others.
Yoga
respects that the weakest point of a person is also the source of
their strength. The gradual nature of Yoga in stabilizing and simultaneously
opening up the creative channels of a practitioner is its' Gift.
Through
Yama and Niyama
we meet ourselves at the level of personal responsibility for our
behavior and attitudes.
Through
Asana we meet
the body as a reflection of the healthy or unhealthy attitudes in
the mind and as necessary our attitudes towards the things we cannot
change, respecting it as a Divine laboratory full of infinite potential
for healing, refinement and study. The word "asana" is commonly
referred to as a posture, but is semantically a "seat" or
"throne" for the higher energies to sit within us.
By
the practice of Pranayama,
the Yogi/ni develops knowledge of the ever-unfolding life essence
in the breath called prana--which sustains and infuses human life
with consummate support, emotional intelligence and creativity, mental
clarity, physical vigor and spiritual courage.
The
internal quest of Yoga takes root in Pratyahara,
where one learns to differentiate between the identification of the
mind with external objects that create attraction and aversion and
the relevance of the Witness who experiences things as they are.
Dharana,
or concentration, is built upon continued sustained attention to the
moment by bringing the mind to single-pointed awareness of an object--this
method has many variations, all with the same skill in mind. According
to Yoga Sutra, the mind is fraught with 5 main klesas
or habitual afflictions--those of ignorance, egoism, desire, aversion,
or clinging. Concentration is like the sword which cuts away these
kinds of flaws in our ability to dwell in our true nature. Dispassion,
gained by having an increasing sense of detachment from identifying
with the habits and neuroses of the mind, stabilizes concentration
and brings strength of character, enabling a person to become more
compassionate to self and others by increasing an awareness of the
universal and impersonal nature of suffering.
When
concentration is able to be sustained on a single point and can move
with that same one-pointedness towards other objects without fluctuation,
meditation or Dhyana
is experienced. Here in meditation, knowledge of a single-point of
an object of attention becomes an experience of the whole, and expands
to where interdependent relationships between other objects can be
seen; as well, the innate emptiness of phenomena, devoid of the sense
adulterations and modifications brought about by intellect, is perceived.
Samadhi,
the eighth limb, evolves as meditation stabilizes into a unitive state
of absorption into the undivided awareness of the Self as truth-consciousness-bliss.
Here the knower and the known are reconciled.
In
traditional Yogic scriptures there is repeated admonishment to obtain
a Guru, one
who has realized experientially the nature of mind and the bliss of
Union with the Self, literally the "remover of darkness".
The Guru is a compassionate force of guidance who can take any form
needed--from kindness to wrathfulness, exhibiting wisdom and at times
what appears to be incomprehensibility--to assist a person with their
most difficult obstacles and attachments. This precious teacher and
friend can accelerate one's confrontation with one's karma --potential
for action-creating circumstances in life determined by one's previous
actions and current belief-construct-- so that the latent samskaras
(impressions upon the soul which confine us to conditioned existence),
can be removed. A Guru can exist in several forms for a person, as
different teachers who reveal life lessons for one, or as the SatGuru--a
teacher who is the sole root vehicle for a seeker's understanding
of spiritual reality throughout life or lifetimes. The true Guru is
inseparable from that which is already in each of us, as beautifully
revealed by the Vedantic maxim, "Tat Tvam Asi"--thou art
That. It is the author's opinion that whether or not one commits to
an external Guru, persistent adherence to the Yamas and Niyamas reveals
the Guru in oneself, a source of absolute friendship and guidance
within that is at the same time one's most itinerant and exacting
Master on the path.
